Mischief Making
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Art, and the Seriousness of Play
Published on 6. December 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
168 pages
978-0-7748-6736-8 (ISBN)
Description
In a gorgeously illustrated exploration of the art of Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Mischief Making disproves any notion that play is frivolous. Deploying mischievous tactics, Yahgulanaas shines a spotlight on serious topics.
Expressive and exuberant, comic and imaginative: these characteristics suffuse the work of the internationally recognized creator of Haida manga. His distinctive style stretches, twists, and flips the formlines of classic Haida art to create imagery that resonates with the graphic vitality of Asian manga. Mischief Making delineates the evolution of the artist's visual practice into a uniquely hybrid aesthetic, uncovering its philosophical underpinnings.
This engaging, beautiful book reveals the artist's deep understanding of the seriousness of play. As he investigates the intersections of Indigenous and other worldviews, the politics of land, cultural heritage, and global ecology, Yahgulanaas disrupts the expected, allowing different ways of experiencing, knowing, and seeing the world to emerge.
Expressive and exuberant, comic and imaginative: these characteristics suffuse the work of the internationally recognized creator of Haida manga. His distinctive style stretches, twists, and flips the formlines of classic Haida art to create imagery that resonates with the graphic vitality of Asian manga. Mischief Making delineates the evolution of the artist's visual practice into a uniquely hybrid aesthetic, uncovering its philosophical underpinnings.
This engaging, beautiful book reveals the artist's deep understanding of the seriousness of play. As he investigates the intersections of Indigenous and other worldviews, the politics of land, cultural heritage, and global ecology, Yahgulanaas disrupts the expected, allowing different ways of experiencing, knowing, and seeing the world to emerge.
Reviews / Votes
Yahgulanaas' work is meticulously analyzed by Levell to expose deeper levels of motivation in the work of one of the most consistently inventive contemporary Indigenous artists working in the world today. - Stuart Derdeyn (Vancouver Sun) Exuberant and playful, Yahgulanaas's art nonetheless has a serious underpinning and he has a long history of environmental and political activism. (BC Book World) "Levell's work details the sometimes tremendously difficult and fraught conversations at the very limits of narrative and artistic practice."- Laura A. Pearson, Huron University College (University of Toronto Quarterly.) [In this book], Levell's skill as a writer shines in her vivid descriptions and analysis of art works included as illustrations. Her academic knowledge and experience as a curator is also on full display in the relationships she traces between Yahgulanaas and other contemporary artists. - Bryan Myles, Simon Fraser University (BC Studies) Lavishly illustrated and comprehensively researched, it demonstrates a non-linear, Haida manga-style approach to considering Yahgulanaas' extraordinarily complex art work. - Victoria Wyatt, University of Victoria (The British Columbia Review)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Vancouver
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
149 colour illus., 22 b&w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 279 mm
Width: 229 mm
Weight
660 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7748-6736-8 (9780774867368)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Nicola Levell is a curator and an associate professor of museum and visual anthropology at the University of British Columbia. She is the author of The Marvellous Real: Art from Mexico, 1926-2011 and editor of Bodies of Enchantment: Puppets from Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, both publications stemming from exhibitions she curated. She has held curatorial positions at the Horniman Museum in London and the Royal Pavilion Art Gallery and Museums in Brighton.
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is a visual artist and author. Influenced by both Haida iconography and contemporary Asian visual culture, he is the creator of Haida manga, an artistic genre that crosses cultures and disciplines. His books include RED: A Haida Manga; Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment; A Tale of Two Shamans; and Hachidori. Yahgulanaas has a long history of environmental activism and political engagement.
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is a visual artist and author. Influenced by both Haida iconography and contemporary Asian visual culture, he is the creator of Haida manga, an artistic genre that crosses cultures and disciplines. His books include RED: A Haida Manga; Flight of the Hummingbird: A Parable for the Environment; A Tale of Two Shamans; and Hachidori. Yahgulanaas has a long history of environmental activism and political engagement.
Content
Foreword / Nobuhiro Kishigami
Introduction
Backstory
Haida Goes Pop! Playing with Framelines
Cool Media: The Art of Telling Tales
Culturally Modified: Precious Metals, Cars, and Crests
Visual Jazz: The Adaptability of Forms
List of Works
Introduction
Backstory
Haida Goes Pop! Playing with Framelines
Cool Media: The Art of Telling Tales
Culturally Modified: Precious Metals, Cars, and Crests
Visual Jazz: The Adaptability of Forms
List of Works